The present invention relates to a ribbon of a cross-linked plastic which is capable of shrinking under the action of heat and which is placed in the manner of a collar around an elongated object and can be shrunk on the object by the action of heat after the edges of the ribbon have been connected to each other.
For the subsequent insulation and covering of connecting sections of electric cables or lines, use has been made for a long time of shrink tubes which are pushed over the place of connection and then shrunk onto the place of connection. For the subsequent covering or insulating of connections of electric cables which have already been connected, collars of heat-shrinkable plastic have gained popularity. The collars are placed in the form of a ribbon around the cables at the place of connection, firmly connected mechanically together at their longitudinal edges and then shrunk upon the cables at the place of connection. The conecting of the longitudinal edges is effected, for instance, by clamping rails, and also by bonding the overlapping edges of the ribbon (Federal Republic of Germany As No. 15 25 815).
The longitudinal slit of such a coupling is frequently backed, for additional sealing, by a strap or tongue which can be bonded to the collar.
In order to produce a branching in such a coupling, the ribbon from which the collar is formed is held together by a clamp between the branch lines prior to the shrinking.
This known construction has the disadvantage that, as a result of the closure rails and the thickenings of the edges of the collar necessary for the engagement of the closure rail, a thickened longitudinal seam which is frequently disturbing results. Another disadvantage is that long lengths of cables or tubes or ducts cannot be surrounded in one continuous piece with such collars.